Buenos Aires

---

---

After fleeing the freezing temperatures of London my arrival into Buenos Aires was a bit of a shock. Still wrapped in my winter layers I stepped out the plane into 35 degree heat. I was roasting!! Needless to say I stripped off real quick. Obviously not everything, people normally pay me to do that sort of stuff...

Normally I'm quite good with directions, but my sense of direction seemed to abandon me. I had real shocker and spent a ludicrous amount of time trying to find the Antiques Market in San Telmo. The sad thing was that I had a map and it wasn't even very far from my hostel. It was all rather pathetic. In my defence, there is a distinct lack of street signs in this city.

The antiques market in San Telmo is fantastic. The roads were blocked off to traffic and it was jammed with tourists as well as locals. The markets had a real bohemian feel to them. The vendors were selling everything from absolute rubbish to loads of beautiful antiques. Interspersed with the stores were loads of buskers. There were some really entertaining tango and musical performances as well as those really annoying acts where all they do is stand still. I just don´t see the entertainment value in those acts! It´s obvious from the goods for sale that the Buenos Aires was, at one time, a really wealthy city.

The only thing that spoiled the day was that I literally had no money. All the ATMs I visited were out of pesos!! It was a really hot day and I was dying of thirst but couldn´t even buy myself a drink. It wasn´t until 3 or 4 in the afternoon that I´d managed to withdrawal some dinero. By that time I had walked for miles and was dying of thirst.

Buenos Aires is not quite what I thought it would be. The place is rather run down, well at least the area where I was staying. I kept thinking I was in a Madrid as it has a rather european feel. I had to keep reminding myself I was actually in BA. I was only there for one night this time so I will pass judgement until my return.

I´ll add some photos when I get the chance.

---

Photos

Puppet show in San Telmo markets
Puppet show in San Telmo markets

Shop front
Cool grocery store

Casa Rosada
Casa Rosada - The balcony made famous by Evita